Obesity is a huge epidemic plaguing our country. Polls have even been taken to show which States are the top ten fattest. Although, there may seem to be a bit of light hearted humor there, it's really not funny at all.

Everything is blamed for obesity nowadays, from genetics, emotional issues, MSG to too many food choices. However, the biggest culprit of obesity just may begin with the individual, even before reaching the obese state.

You can pass by just about anyone on the streets these days and ask them; what's the one thing they would like to change about themselves, and nine out of ten will tell you, they would like to lose weight. But less than half of them are truly ready or willing to do what it takes to get the weight off and keep it off. Why? It could be FEAR. Think about it, many people will sabotage themselves long before they ever begin to see progress just out of fear. Fear of what though? Let's take a look at fear for a second to see just what it is and how it works.

FEAR:An emotion, a belief with regret, a fight or flight anticipation of some specific pain or danger. Fear is usually accompanied by failure, a belief that something is not worth trying because of the negative outcomes that are possible.

Now, here is what's powerful about fear, it's a learned behavior/emotion. It's not something you are born with but rather something you were taught. Why is it powerful? Because, if you learned it, you can change it by learning something new to take the place of it. There is an expression that holds true; 'if you are in fear, you are not in faith'. You cannot experience fear and faith together at the same issue. One of the two will be dominant, your fear of it or your faith in it. You don't have to be a huge religious person to understand faith either. In short, faith is belief, confidence. Faith is simply calling things that are not as though they were because of the expectancy of it. Some may even say that faith seems to describe fear. However, faith is not fear because the expectancy is never dread. It's something you run toward not run from. Fear is anticipation of a "certain" terror of what "probably" will be only out of the existence in your thinking but not necessarily reality. That's the difference.

So how does this all affect change in your body? Well, if a person is in fear of the changes he or she is about to make, whether the person has grown accustomed to the weight and is use to being heavy, or fear having to make better decisions and separate from bad habits, this type of fear will keep this person crippled and held to the belief that he or she will not succeed; and therefore, opt to stay overweight, oftentimes UNKNOWINGLY.

Change in nutrition and training work but it works much better when the person is preparing changes on the inside. Transformation of the body is not just physical, it's mental. In fact, it may be more mental than physical because it takes a renewed mind to make renewed choices in food selection, exercise and belief in self. Without the mental transformation, the physical doesn't last.

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Anita Munday, at 50, is an aspiring bodybuilder in the State of Alabama, and writer of an autobiography. Only 7 years into the world of bodybuilding, she has overcome health and weight issues, finding her niche in life with confidence and a new set of eyes. She now shares with you the benefits at any age of making a dedicated change by stepping out of the box, awakening the body and renewing the spirit. You may contact her at brashaxav@yahoo.com.